Navy Sailor Marries High School Sweetheart at Airport Following 11-Month Deployment

Navy sailor Dylan Ruffer and Madison Meinhardt got married at Reno-Tahoe International Airport shortly after he landed following an 11-month deployment.

The couple, both 19, planned to get hitched earlier this year, but plans were scratched when Ruffer’s deployment in the Middle East was extended, so when they learned he was being given a six-day vacation this month, Meinhardt’s father jokingly recommended she meet Ruffer in a wedding gown at the airport. That set the stage for the most non-traditional of wedding ceremonies.

And while the airline industry is typically besieged by bad press, it seemed to get it right this time. United Airlines got into the spirit of the occasion by making all of Ruffer’s trips VIP flights and the airport chipped in by decorating and providing enough space for 150 guests, as well as helping out with a DJ and catering.